Tick Tock
by MusicalMinchkin
Summary: Everyone seems to think that River is getting worse. She needs to find a way to prove that she can be a useful part of the crew and that she isn't crazy. Eventual MalRiver romance. Read and Review! WIP chap 5 is edited, and chap 6 FINALLY UP!
1. Chapter 1

Tick Tock **Chapter 1:**

Tick tock… tick tock… There it went again, that ever-constant reminder of her consciousness trying to pull her back into the real world. There is no rest for the wicked.

It had been years since River could remember a single day without the everlasting ticking of her internal clock. It's true that most people have some kind of subconscious effort to keep themselves in proper timing, but River's _theoretical_ clock actually ticked. However, this annoyance was only one reason why she couldn't sleep on this particular night.

A few hours earlier, River had overheard a conversation between the captain and her brother Simon. Mal wanted Simon to completely confine her to her room, she would have no contact with any of the crew except for Simon and would be on medication at all hours;

" I won't have River rompin' about like that again." River heard Mal say in a hoarse whisper. "You here me! She could've killed somebody!"

"I'm sorry Captain. I should have kept a better watch over my medical supplies, I should have…" It was easy to recognize Simon's distinctive voice.

"You should've kept a closer eye on her damn it!"

"It won't happen again, I promise…"

"Of course it ain't gonna happen again, and it ain't gonna happen again because your to keep her on her meds 24/7 and she is to stay in that room o' yours at _all_ times. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly."

As the room returned to its former silence River made her way back to her bunk where she lay down trying to get her thoughts together. She would be as trapped here as she had been in the institution. Why didn't they realize that she was getting better?

Granted she had made her fair share of mistakes while on serenity, and none of these was what would be deemed as little, but she was thinking clearer now, she no longer heard the strange voices of people she knew to be long dead, and most of the time she could speak in a way that her meaning wasn't entirely lost on the crew of Serenity. How could she possibly prove herself if she wasn't given the chance?

There was only one option; she must prove herself tonight. There was no waiting for tomorrow, she just had to find a way to make them understand that even if she wasn't entirely better that she did not need to be caged like an experimental creature.

River wracked her brain to formulate some kind of plan, but what could she possibly do in one night to prove herself to the crew, the captain, and her brother? …Well there was one thing…but she would need a little help.

It was dark, but River could still make out the light breathing coming from the nearby bunk. Simon had given her some pills to help her sleep which she had tucked slyly under her pillow as soon as Simon had turned away. She had done a very convincing job of drifting off to sleep, but that was one of her so-called 'gifts' that she could observe and imitate flawlessly. Just as right now she was carefully observing the rise and fall of her brother's chest with each intake of breath. Once she was completely satisfied that Simon was sound asleep River silently removed herself from her bed and from the room.

The halls of Serenity were soothingly quiet but oddly cold and River clutched her thin cloth dress tighter around her body in an attempt to warm herself. She did realize that it was merely a temperature adjustment used to conserve energy while everyone was sleeping, but it didn't make the cold any more comfortable.

The ship seemed bigger when she was the only one wandering in it, but River was to intent on reaching her destination to notice much. By the time she reached the door she was shaking, although that might have had more to do with the cold than excitement or fear. The door opened quietly, but the room's occupant was a light sleeper.

"Mal?" Inara asked annoyed "What on earth could be going on this early in the morning…" She quieted when she saw that it was River who had entered her shuttle. "River sweetie why aren't you asleep? …Simon would be worried sick if he knew you were out of bed at this hour."

"I need your help." River said quietly. Inara looked as though she might protest but instead she nodded and beckoned River to sit down.

"What do you want me to do?" Inara seemed calm but her voice held the slightest hint of hesitance.

"Captain and Simon want to lock me in my room always, and make me obey with medicine…" Inara nodded for her to continue, She was wise enough to know when River said something, even if it didn't make sense, that it was true. "I need to prove…to prove that I'm getting better, I am getting better…and I need help to prove it."

"And how can I help?"

"Make me normal."

"What do you mean River?"

"Make me normal…Pretty hair, combed and clean, pretty dress, no dirt, no tares, calm with pretty speech and being understood, I need to find my place… to be helpful and needed…useful."

"Well…" Inara said a smile beginning to cross her face "I think I might just be able to help you with that."

Inara began River's transformation with her appearance. She cleaned and combed River's hair before putting it in a pretty and sophisticated updo, she put some natural but pretty makeup on her, and she loaned River one of her more simple dresses. That of course was the easy part, the difficult thing would be to get her to act and talk in an appropriate manner. Of course this took a lot more time and they continued to work until the rest of the crew began to get up for the day.

"I think your ready." Inara said with a smile.

"I can not possibly thank you enough." River stated, as she looked herself over in a mirror. She really was pretty and hopefully now everyone would realize that she wasn't crazy… eccentric maybe but not crazy. Inara had said that wealthy people weren't called strange because people thought if they had that much money they could indulge themselves in whatever they wanted… so they were called eccentric, and River certainly looked wealthy at the moment. The most surprising thing was how well the look fit her… it was like this was the her she was supposed to be.

River thanked Inara once more before leaving the shuttle to see if her plan would work, as she wanted it to. By the time she reached the kitchen she could hear that most of the crewmembers were awake and active. She took a deep breath and walked through the open door. At first nobody even looked up, so she sat down at the table. Kaylee glanced over and smiled.

"Good morning Inara…" River looked up at Kaylee "Huh? …but your not… Oh my God." With Kaylee's sudden outburst everyone finally turned and looked at the cause of the commotion.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you on my ship?" Mal asked sternly, his hand readied near his pistol.

"Don't you see Capin' it's River, she went and got herself all beautified." Kaylee exclaimed excitedly.

"What in the hell are you talkin' about Kaylee, that's not… good heavens it is River." Mal's hand left his pistol and went to hold his head, this was a pretty big shock to wake up to in the morning. If he weren't prone to life threatening situations Mal might have just had a heart attack. Sure River had always been a strange kind of pretty… but now she was… well she certainly looked different. Mal just hoped he wouldn't get another "Special Hell." speech from Shepherd Book.

"Has anyone seen River?" Simon asked frantically as he ran into the kitchen. He looked around at everyone but none of them seemed able to speak and they were all staring up at Inara. "Inara have you seen River?" River turned around to face Simon. He took one good look and realizing whom it was… promptly fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tick Tock:**

**Chapter 2**

When Simon awoke he was in one of his own infirmary beds, which happened to be remarkably uncomfortable. He looked around expecting to see someone, but strangely there wasn't a soul in sight. As he stood up he felt a sharp sting hit him in the back of his neck, undoubtedly from when he fainted. He remembered back to the morning replaying the events over in his mind.

He had woken up and found River missing. This wouldn't have been so bad had today not been the day that Mal had strictly warned him to begin an indefinite confinement for River. Simon almost wondered if River had known somehow about what was supposed to happen to her, she seemed to have an uncanny grasp of what went on around her, especially if it involved either her or himself. He had looked in every room of the ship without luck before he made his way to the kitchen. When Simon had looked into the kitchen he saw that River wasn't there either and asked if any of the crew had seen her. They had all seemed a bit strange and very attentive of Inara, so he asked Inara where River was. And wouldn't you know it there was River right in front of him. She had looked so at peace with herself; She no longer looked like the scared lost little girl he had been taking care of, she looked a proper lady and he was truly happy for her. But could the peace really last?

He walked slowly to the infirmary door being cautious not to strain his neck anymore than he had to. And so the search began again, only this time he wasn't searching for anyone imparticular…just someone. As Simon neared the main holding area he heard music and laughter. He looked over the landing to see that Wash and Zoë had brought out an old record player and River and Kaylee were dancing. Simon smiled broadly as he walked down the steps to where the festivities were going on.

River watched as her brother descended the stairs into the main hull. She could hardly remember a time he had looked so happy…so proud. She could see that his steps were more careful because his head was hurting him, but it didn't seem to bother him too much. It was River's turn to smile as she watched Simon take a small bow and ask Kaylee to dance. Her smile lessened slightly as she felt someone's eyes on her. She turned to find her eyes interlocked with the captain's. Her cheeks flushed slightly before turning around to watch Simon and Kaylee dancing.

They really were so perfect for one another and River had known that the true reason he continually pushed Kaylee away was because he felt it was wrong to give his attention to someone else when he was supposed to take care of her. But he didn't need to feel that way anymore. River wanted Simon to be happy as much as she wanted herself to be happy.

River was pulled from her thoughts as she felt the approach of a familiar presence. She smiled and turned to face him, not wanting to wait for him to talk.

"Well you looked a might lonely standin' here all by yourself and I was wonderin' if you mightn't grace me with the pleasure of a dance?" Mal always seemed to know just the right balance between being overly cocky and being terribly sweet. He was something of a mystery to River. Everyone else was so easy to read but not him. His natural concealment of his true feelings was part of his very essence. It wasn't, however, impossible to read him but occasionally she did wish she had kept from prying into his thoughts. But for now River would try and focus on her present situation.

"I would like that." River replied, giving a small curtsy before taking Mal's hand as the music switched to a pretty waltz. River was pleasantly surprised that he actually did know the steps even if he wasn't the most graceful of people.

"Where'd you learn to dance so well eh?" Mal asked looking down at River before quickly averting his eyes.

"I took many dance classes as a kid…but they were too easy… Where did you learn to dance?"

"Well I weren't professionally taught or anything, I guess it just comes from this line o' work… You have to know a right many skills to do as well as me and my crew." This statement made River think a little bit. Maybe she really could have a proper place on Serenity. She was excellent at observation and imitation, so why couldn't she help on jobs by playing the parts the jobs required? Of course Simon wouldn't agree because he would say it was much to dangerous but she didn't need his protection all the time and she needed to learn how to at least try and take care of herself.

They danced to a couple more songs before they sat down to catch their breath. The dancing had been nice, it had in a way reinforced the changes that were occurring in River's life, but Mal was holding back and suppressing something. It wasn't just the fact that he had trouble looking her in the eyes while they were dancing, she could sense his inner tension and she knew it wasn't just about her. Something from his past was haunting him, keeping him from living in the present. But how would she be able to get him to open up about it? She would ask him about it later for this was neither the time nor the place.

The festivities died out around dinnertime. Dinner was often a time to discuss upcoming jobs and tonight was no different. River listened extremely carefully to tonight's conversation making sure to grasp every detail so that she could find a way to help. The job itself was relatively simple; they were going to steal a large and incredibly expensive diamond necklace. The necklace was going to be on loan to a high-class nightclub to be worn by their lead performer in their show's finale. The difficult thing would of course be getting the necklace and as of right now they had no plan.

"Well crew I'm open to suggestions on this one." Mal said in exasperation.

"I have an idea." River replied, trying to conceal her excitement as she spoke.

"Alright fine, how do you propose we get the necklace?"

"Someone goes in and poses as one of the dancers and when the show is over they take the necklace and leave. Just like that."

"Just like that huh? Well who do you think here could actually go in and perform that kind of dancing. I mean it's great in theory but for all practicality it's unsound… unless of course Wash is really a world class ballet dancer." The whole table erupted into merry laughter, except River of course.

"I can do it." The laughing ceased.

"I'm sure there's a better way, and besides it's much to dangerous…"

"There is no other way. All I have to do is see the choreography once and I can do it. There are no other options and when there are no other options the one that is left must be the right one."

"She has a point Capin'." Kaylee chimed in. Mal fought against himself to protest but in the end he conceded to River's plan.

"Fine we'll use River's plan, any objections?" Silence. "Then it's settled, we start preparing tomorrow. And this best work the way it's supposed to."

With that dinner was ended and everyone went off to their respective jobs about the ship. Mal and River were the last to leave the kitchen.

"Thank you." River said as she walked past Mal and through the doorway.

"Your welcome." He replied, but she was already out of sight. Mal didn't want to make River's life any more complicated than it already was, but she was certainly complicating his life and it didn't look like things would be getting any easier... for either of them.

**Authors Note: I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! More on the way soon I promise. And PLEASE review :makes sad puppy eyes: Constructive criticism and the like are welcomed as well : )**


	3. Chapter 3

**Tick Tock:**

Chapter 3

For the first time in a long while River woke up smiling. She had successfully avoided confinement and was going to begin her first important role in a mission. In a little less than 48 hours, River would be onstage dancing her heart out and convincing everyone in the audience that she had always been there, always on that stage.

Serenity was scheduled to land on Kastinu in 7 to 8 hours and the first order of business would be to get River in to see the show and the dance moves she would have to perform. The club was named 'The Diamond Stair' and was very exclusive due to its exceptionally high prices. The main reason they had agreed to take on the job in the first place was because Inara was meeting with a client on Kastinu that was more than willing to help them with entrance into the club.

River plopped her bare feet to the floor and began to ready herself for the day. She took a lot more time and effort on her appearance than she would have normally because she didn't want everyone to think that yesterday had been a one-time occurrence. She knew she was better and she had to get them to trust her about that.

As usual most of the crew had gathered in the kitchen for a small breakfast before work began. Today when River entered they noticed immediately, but in a good way and she couldn't help but flush slightly as she realized that the captain's eyes were fixed on her once again. River sat down slowly in a chair beside Kaylee.

River had always felt that there was some kind of bond between Kaylee and herself; They were so similar in so many ways, the most obvious being Kaylee's keen sense of intuition and innate knowledge of mechanics. True River's greatest talent wasn't in mechanics, but it held the same principle of being a natural gift. She wondered if she might be able to talk to Kaylee about Mal. Surely she of all people would understand the complexities of having feelings for someone so different from yourself.

"What's fer breakfast?" Jayne grumbled as he strode carelessly through the kitchen door and set himself leaning up against the kitchen counter.

"Protein. We don't eat much of nothin' else round here." Kaylee replied with a sigh. "Though it sure'd be nice to have some strawberries every now and again."

"Well we ain't got no strawberries, sides you'd eat em all up anyways." Jayne said through gritted teeth..

"That ain't true! I'd be more'n happy to share with the rest o' the crew." Jayne rolled his eyes at Kaylee's outburst.

"Jayne wouldn't share any strawberries." River said softly "He already has a storage of sweets that he hides from the crew."

"Now you shut your gob you crazy little witch…" Jayne had stood up straight, but you never would have known because as soon as the words had left his mouth he found himself pinned to the wall with a hand around his throat and a pistol to his head, Mal's pistol.

"I won't have you sayin' stuff like that again Jayne." Mal stated angrily "You n' me have had our share a problems with one another, so you best be apologizen afor' I _make_ you."

"Sorry." Jayne choked out his face red from lack of oxygen. Mal released his grip on Jayne's throat and put his pistol away while Jayne rubbed his sore neck sheepishly.

"Now I want it clear that the next time you try'n insult _any _member of this crew that there won't be no chance for apologies. Understood?" Jayne gave a swift nod before exiting the kitchen, in hopes to avoid any more confrontations.

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, Kaylee was the first to speak.

"Does Jayne really have a secret sweets stash?" Kaylee questioned.

"Yes."

"Well what kinda sweets does he have in it?"

"Mostly chocolates, and some caramel's… he ate most of the chocolate covered cherries."

"How do you know?" At this River smiled and pulled a small cloth pouch from her dress pocket. She then proceeded to empty its contents on the table. The bag contained about 15 or so individually wrapped pieces of chocolate.

"He didn't eat all the chocolate covered cherries." River replied. Kaylee gave a small squeal of joy before diving her hands into the small pile of chocolates.

"Well ain't you the sneaky one." Mal said with an appreciative smile. "You might be a criminal mastermind yet." The chocolates were divided up evenly between the remaining crewmembers except for Zoë who took a little extra to give to her husband, who was currently at the helm of the ship.

One by one the remaining crewmembers dissipated until Mal and River were once again the only ones left. River turned to Mal and opened her mouth to speak.

"Your welcome." He said cutting off whatever she had been about to say. River nodded and smiled as he made a small bow like gesture for her to proceed first through the kitchen door. After a second or two of waiting Mal breathed a soft sigh before following River's departure through the door and getting back to work.

In what seemed like no time at all the crew of Serenity had made a safe landing on Kastinu. They landed a little ways past the outskirts of the city, so it would take a bit of a walk to reach their destination. It would have been more convenient for them to take a vehicle in, but the only vehicles they owned on Serenity were old and mud covered, which would surely make it harder for them to get into such a ritzy club.

Inara had lent River another one of her dresses and Mal still had the suit he had purchased when he had needed to secure the off-world cattle transport. They really did look the part, not just of being wealthy and well connected but also of being a couple, they just seemed to fit. Kaylee, Zoë, and Wash waved them off.

"Don't they look pretty together?" Kaylee said happily

"Just don't tell the captain that." Zoë said quietly.

"Hey Capin' you sure look pretty…" Kaylee's shouts were cut off by Zoë's frantic hand covering her mouth. Mal looked back with a slightly aggravated look but as he turned back around he was smiling and chuckling softly. His crew may have sometimes been a nuisance but at least they were a good-hearted nuisance.

It took a little over an hour's walk to reach the club. The conversation between Mal and River had stayed light and friendly though she could still tell he was holding back, but River figured he would tell her in his own time. There was a large crowd outside the club so it took an additional 15 to 20 minutes to just get to the front of the club.

"Names?" The doorman asked in a relatively bored voice.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds." Mal said trying to keep as calm as possible. The doorman did a quick look through the list.

"Yes here you are." He said pointing at his list. "Go right in."

"Well that wasn't so bad." Mal said in relief as he lead river to one of the tables with a good view of the stage.

About 10 minutes later the show began. There were around 20 dancers in total, all of which had matching showgirl style dresses. The outfits were a little skimpier than River would have liked, but at least they were tastefully done. The dancing was varied and beautifully choreographed, it ranged from tap to ballet with even a little bit of jazz thrown in.

River's eyes were constantly flashing back and forth across the stage throughout the entire performance. She took everything in so quickly that it almost made Mal dizzy just watching her. The finale was of course the show's highlight, and it was hard not to be amazed by the splendor and beauty of the diamond necklace that the lead performer wore.

After the performance was over River and Mal left immediately, not wanting to stay any longer than they had too, besides it was already really late and they still had an hour's walk back to the ship.

"Do you think you saw enough to perform it." Mal asked.

"Yes." She looked happily up at him "I'd perform it for you now but my feet are having trouble with just walking." Mal chuckled and before River even knew what was happening he had picked her up and started carrying her.

"Such a pretty lady shouldn't have to walk." River laughed at his comment, and smiled at him before slowly closing her eyes and laying her head carefully against his chest. And she stayed in that position as she drifted off to sleep, feeling warm and feeling safe… safer than she had in a long while.

**Authors Note: Yay I finished my third chapter! I'm personally very pleased with it and hope I can convey all the ideas I have for the next chapter as well. I'm excited : ) So please review because every single review I get makes me want to wright this story all the more and I'm really grateful for all the positive feedback I'm getting on this my first Firefly fic. Much Love to everybody!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Tick Tock:**

Chapter 4 

When River finally awoke it took her a moment to realize that she was back in her own bunk. The last thing she could remember was a pair of warm comforting arms and a sweet kind of musk smell like leaves in autumn. Mal had taken her back to the ship, had let her rest, and such a sound sleep she'd had. As she glanced over at a nearby clock she realized that she had slept too well and that it was nearing noon.

After dressing rather quickly River let her newfound hunger lead her to the kitchen. Breakfast was undoubtedly over, but knowing the crew and its appetite lunch was probably just beginning. As she came closer and closer to the kitchen she began to smell the faint aroma of bacon frying and something else, something sweet… and… fruity? Entering the door she was greeted by the surprising sight of a fresh basket of fruit. There were apples and pears, oranges and bananas, there were even some fruits River had never seen before.

As her eyes continued to take in the contents of that heavenly parcel she once again felt those ever present eyes seeping through her body, as if she were a window to some uncharted world. She smiled as Mal put his hand on her shoulder.

"Good mornin' River, or should that be good afternoon?" He smiled softly while River chuckled at his attempt for pleasantries.

"So where did the fruit basket come from?" River asked cocking her eyebrow slightly.

"It's sort of a premeditative celebration gift. For when the job tonight goes just as planned and we find ourselves swimmin' in diamonds." Mal's voice crescendoed as he finished the last bit of his sentence and all of the present crewmembers gave a happy shout in agreement. As the noise died back down Mal retrieved a small box from his pocket. " I got you a little somthin' " River opened the box carefully, letting the anticipation build as the top slid back. Inside was the biggest, reddest, most beautiful strawberry she had ever seen. "Don't worry about Kaylee, I made sure to get one for her too…I swear you should have seen Kaylee's face when she found out I'd gotten her…" Mal's words were cut off as River embraced him in a tight bear hug.

"Thanks, it really means a lot" River eventually released the embrace and went off to enjoy her gift, but not before giving Mal a quick kiss on the cheek. Mal stood silently as he watched her retreating form, her hips swishing lightly from side to side, his face reddening slightly before averting his eyes. It had been a simple kiss, just a simple friendship type kiss, and yet he could not help but feel this small knotting sensation in the pit of his stomach. What would happen if he crossed that line, the forbidden line between a captain and his crew? Would River be able to handle it, and even more importantly would he be able to?

With only a few hours left before River was to take on her first real job as a member of the crew. She decided that now was as good a time as any to have that chat with Kaylee about the feelings she was having for Mal. Kaylee and the captain were friends and they had a certain understanding of one another that River could not yet touch.

Even Inara, who had been on this vessel much longer than River, could not touch the innate sense of loyalty and respect Kaylee and Mal had for one another. Although in Inara's case this was probably because of her hidden feelings for Mal. Inara held herself at a distance on purpose, and though she would never say so, she was always only one step away from losing control of her emotions. River had seen it when she first aquatinted herself with the ship. Mal still had some feelings for Inara, it was easy for almost anyone to see, but they had been watered down by the tiresome years of offhand rejections and games of and cat and mouse. Inara, however, had not wavered the slightest bit in her convictions, she was in love, she would always be in love, but her pride would continue to hold her in an eternal purgatory. This was another reason for River to have Kaylee as her confidant rather than Inara.

And so River began her search. It didn't take long to find Kaylee because as usual she was resting peacefully in the engine room listening to the dull hum that was Serenity.

"Hello Kaylee." Kaylee opened her eyes and sat up to attention not wanting it to appear that she had fallen asleep on the job. Seeing that it was River and not the captain who had spoken she let her muscles relax. She then proceeded to lay back down and prop herself up on her elbows in order to listen to whatever it was River had to say.

"So what brings you to this corner of Serenity, River?" River leaned her back up against a nearby wall in anticipation for the long conversation to follow.

"I'll be completely honest, I need some advice on life, love, and strawberries… and not particularly in that order."

"It's about Mal isn't it?" Just how matter of factly Kaylee had stated this almost threw River off balance.

"Well… yes… but how on earth did you…" Kaylee cut her off.

"When you've been around the captain as long as I have you kinda start to figure out the way his mind works. It's like mechanics; you just gotta listen to the signs he gives ya and figure out if he's malfunctioning or not."

"Oh…" that seemed simple enough, but then again mechanics wasn't really her strong suit… at least not Mal's mechanics. "And so the signs are saying…?" River didn't have to wait very long for an answer.

"The signs are sayin' that you make him mighty hot and bothered and if your still needin' an analogy you little miss are the monkey wrench and Mal is…" Kaylee's mouth snapped shut as Mal walked into the room.

"Mal is a what, Kaylee?" Kaylee sat dumbstruck for a moment before jumping out of her hammock and standing at attention.

"Hello Capin', we was just saying that you've done a great job, that you are the best captain we could ask for…"

"Well I've been lookin' all over fer you two. I have to get River to the club in less than two hours and she ain't even wearing her outfit yet."

"Outfit?" River questioned, looking from Mal to Kaylee.

"Yeah. Zoe and Wash have been workin' on it all day. Might funny stuff that was. I never thought of Zoe as much of a seamstress and them two were caterwauling like two angry bears…Well actually an angry bear and a rabbit." Mal began laughing to himself as he continued with the story. "Although I ain't never seen a rabbit squeal quite like Wash did when Zoe threatened to sew the rest of the fringe into his ear…"

"Uh…Capin'…" Kaylee began.

"Oh…er…right so we'll…er… be goin' then. See you later Kaylee." Mal took a hold of River and lead her out of the engine room as quickly as possibly so as to keep from damaging his pride anymore than he already had.

Surprisingly Wash and Zoe hadn't done too bad on the sewing of River's dance dress. As far as she could tell it looked just like the ones she had seen the other night. The dress itself was gold with fringe going down to just touch the top of her knees and leotard like bottoms underneath so she wouldn't be showing too much. It also fit her, so that was thankful.

For the trip there Mal was kind enough to loan her one of his jackets and with no time to spare River and Mal headed out in hopes that everything would go smoothly. Although it is impossible to be certain of such things.

When Mal and River finally arrived at 'The Diamond Stair' River gave Mal his coat back and headed for the employee entrance around back. Mal, however, was forced to wait in the long front line and once again after waiting for fifteen to twenty minutes he was finally ushered inside with the rest of the attendees.

Meanwhile River was busy going over the dance steps backstage, trying to make sure she still remembered them all. As she did this, a young blonde woman began walking towards her.

"Aren't you the pretty one? I don't believe we've met, the name is Claire, Claire Simmons." River looked up and tried her hardest to give what she believed to be a cheerful smile.

"I'm River, nice to meet you. I'm new."

"They always seem to be new, some nonsense about fresh blood or whatever, I keep tellin' um this ain't a strip club but they never seem to listen much…" As Claire said this last part they heard a booming God like voice come over the speakers. "That's our cue, come on." With that Claire grabbed hold of River and dragged her to the stage.

Mal sat at one of the tables in the front of the audience when the lights dimmed and he heard the same announcer introduce the show. After the announcer finished speaking the lights in the audience blacked out completely as the silvery-blue lights rose on the stage. As the performers emerged it only took him a moment to spot River who was stationed at the far right of the stage.

Mal's eyes remained fixated on River throughout the entire performance. Her grace as well as her beauty astounded him. She even seemed to glow in the soft blue stage light like some sort of angelic creature. Her feet barely touching the ground as she switched effortlessly between dance numbers. In these moments Mal realized just how far River had come since she had first arrived on serenity, She was no longer that fragile flower caught in an endless winter, she had broken through to the sunlight and was determined to stay there. As the performance ended Mal let his eyes refocus and he caught one last glimpse as River departed from the stage. Yes, he would not make the same mistakes he had made in his past. It was time to get something back, no matter what lines he crossed in doing so.

As soon as River exited the stage she began thinking of how to get the diamond necklace. Out of her peripheral vision she was able to watch as the lead performer carefully returned the necklace to one of the stage managers whom promptly exited the room. River waited a moment before following them through the small back hallway, being careful to stay just out of view should they turn and discover her following them.

The man soon stopped in front of a small cupboard, inside the cupboard was a safe. As the man began to open it River put her ear to the wall hoping to decipher the combination. '32' click '24' click '12' click. Just because she had gotten better did not mean she had lost her special gifts. After the necklace was safely inside River heard the heavy footsteps slowly fade down the hallway until the man was out of sight. Then as quickly as she could River opened up the safe and pulled out the necklace. It truly was a thing of beauty, so beautiful in fact that she did not see the hand that covered her mouth, nor did she recognize the burning smell of chloroform, until indeed it was too late and everything went black.

**Authors Note:** You people are amazing, just so you know. And I am so so so very sorry for not updating in forever, but school and life have been hectic and I haven't had any time whatsoever to write at all. I'm so pleased at the response to the story though. And hopefully I'll have another chapter for you guys pretty soon. I'm pretty pleased with this one so let me know what you think. KEEP THOSE REVIEWS COMING! I love you : ) !


	5. Chapter 5

**Tick Tock:**

Chapter 5

Mal waited patiently outside the 'Diamond stair' for over an hour. The dancers had been emerging every couple minutes since the show had ended and now, even after the dancers had long since departed, he still did not see River. It was possible of course that River would have to wait awhile before she had an opportunity to get the necklace, and he knew that jobs were never as easy as you hoped they would be, but this was too long and his sense of worry was only preceded by his sense of dread. Taking action now could cost him the necklace, but no amount of money was worth the risk of losing River.

Mal entered the building through the dancer's entrance. As he did so, he readied his weapon and opened the door as quietly as was possible. The room in which he found himself was completely dark and it took a couple minutes of graceless stumbles for Mal to find the light switch. The place was deserted and other than the faint sound of his steps and the hum of nearby ships there was an utter silence.

"River?" He whispered as he started down a dim hallway. "River, if you can here me… well it'd be right nice to get an answer about now." The only response was a slight echo from his words. As Mal continued down the hallway he could see the faint outline of a door, so he increased his speed slightly and headed in its direction. He was almost there when _:thump:_ "Ow! Gorram it! What the hell was that?" his head hit something hard and metallic.

Mal straightened himself back up with a reach upwards toward what had hit him. It was the safe. He felt around inside for the contents but there were none, it was completely empty. He closed it quietly and began to head for the door once again but as he did so he felt something near his shoe. It was a piece of cloth and when he picked it up a strong smell began to burn his senses, the cloth was drenched in chloroform. The worry returned tenfold, and as it did Mal rushed to the door and swung it open.

"Good Evening Mr. Reynolds." The voice was deep and scratchy and its owner was hidden in the room's shadows.

"Do I know you?" Mal asked as he gripped his weapon tighter within his palm.

"No. But you will in time." Came the reply, the figure stood and before Mal could react he was knocked from behind sending him into an even more remote darkness.

_Meanwhile_…

There were voices. They came to her softly at first but after awhile they grew louder as feeling returned to the various parts of her body. River's arms were knotted tightly behind her back, her feet were roped as well, and even when she opened her eyes she could still only able to see black. She could tell from the slight pressure around her eyes that she had been blindfolded and despite the fact that she had not been gagged she did not dare speak for fear of who or what might be listening. River listened more carefully as the voices continued and although she did not recognize the speakers she could tell that there were two distinct voices one of which was male and the other female.

"So, Ethan when do I get my payment?" The female voice sounded very familiar but River was not quite able to place it.

"You get your pay when I get mine. It's a two day journey from here to Alliance headquarters and I intend to get full bounty on this little one, you understand girlie?"

"I wish you'd stop callin' me that."

"Well _Claire_ I wish you'd keep your Gorram mouth shut!" River couldn't help her sharp intake of breath at the familiar name. Claire had been the dancer River met backstage. Which meant they knew River was coming. They had known who she was well before she went through that door. "Well look at that, our special guest seems to be awake."

Before River knew what was happening her blindfold had been ripped off and she was face to face with a rather scruffy looking man.

"You won't get away with this." River stated boldly, surprising herself somewhat. however, her statement didn't even phase the man and he laughed cruelly in her face.

"We already have darlin'. You see your prince charmin' has almost as many people after him as you do, and with the amount of money we got paid I'm sure he's halfway to hell as we speak." River was silent. Mal had been captured as well and was probably across the galaxy by now. She was on her own.

"Aww… is little River sad?" Claire asked with a sarcastic grin plastered on her face. River didn't reply. "Not much fun is she? Can we torture her or somethin'? I bet that would make her a bit more talkative."

"She ain't to be touched." Ethan hissed grabbing Claire's arm roughly. "The Alliance don't want to pay for damaged goods, understand?" Claire winced, her smile fading as she rubbed her throbbing arm.

"Fine. Whatever you say… you're the boss." The last bit of her sentence dripped with annoyance and sarcasm and she left before Ethan could make any kind of reply. He gave River one last look before exiting the room after Claire.

Just because River was on her own did not mean she was helpless. Quite the contrary. And if there were a way to escape she would find it, starting with those ropes. Both her hands and feet were tied, but she was not tied to anything so step one was to get her hands from behind her back. Thankfully her dancing abilities made her flexible enough to do this. It was only a matter of minutes before river had gotten her hands in front of her and torn away her blindfold. Step two was to find something sharp to cut through the ropes. Luckily River had thought ahead and brought along a small pocketknife in case of an emergency. She had put it in the one place almost nobody would think to look for it, in her bra.

River couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of what Mal might say if she recited this aspect in the story of her daring escape. Thinking of Mal gave her focus and she was determined not only to escape but to find a way to rescue him as well. It took River half an hour to saw through the ropes with the small knife, and then it was time for step three, get out of the room.

As was expected the door was locked but there was a code pad that Claire and Ethan had used to exit. River thought back to earlier when Claire had left the room. She conjured up the sounds in her mind and replayed them slowly. 7…3…2…6…1 those were the numbers Claire had used. River took a deep breath to steady herself then quickly punched in the code. The door opened.

The ship's halls were quiet, so now would be the perfect time for the fourth and final step, get the hell off the ship. As she continued along the passageway she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned but whoever those footsteps belonged to was too far away to be seen, then more footsteps, this time from the front. River paused; they were coming at her from both sides. This meant there was only one way she could go and that was straight up. A few gymnastic-esque moves later and River had a firm hold on to the cold metal beams as Claire and Ethan crossed beneath her.

"Have you checked on the girl lately?" Ethan asked.

"Nope. I don't see why you're so uptight about her anyways. She's a tiny little thing and you double-checked the ropes yourself."

"She's worth a lot of money and if you want me to give you that pretty necklace you want so bad then you best do as I say." This caught River's attention. The necklace was actually on the ship. Maybe there was a way River could save herself, get the guy, and still get the goods. She had to make a choice though and she had to make it now. She could be brave and bold… or she could play it safe. Safe was way overrated.

River jumped down from the ceiling and went into battle mode. She started with Ethan first knocking him into Claire. Ethan reached for his weapon but River had the element of surprise on her side so neither of her captors really had time to react. And thus Ethan was too slow to avoid being knocked head first into the nearest wall. Claire was even easier; one round house kick to the head was enough to land Claire completely unconscious. With Claire and Ethan down for the count it was time to keep them that way.

River took Ethan's gun and holster and found some rope in a nearby supply closet. After thoroughly securing their ropes, River locked them both in an empty room which she secured by placing a metal bar through the door latch. There was surely no way either of them would be escaping anytime soon.

After securing her captors it was time to secure the goods. River needed to hunt down that necklace and she had absolutely no idea where to start looking. Her search for the diamond necklace lasted for nearly two hours. River had actually been very close to giving up when she noticed an area of grating very similar to the grating in the hull of Serenity. It was a very lucky coincidence because behind one of the plates was a secret compartment which held the diamond necklace. There was also quite a bit of money in there too but River only wanted what she came for... Anything else would be too much to carry. Since River was still in her dance costume, she didn't have any pockets or ways to hold onto the necklace either, so she put it on around her neck to keep it safe.

Now that she had the goods, and had sufficiently saved herself, it was time to save Mal. Unfortunately, how to go about this little task was almost as baffling as the search for the necklace. After an ungodly amount of wandering, River eventually found herself in the control room of the ship, where she made quick work of any computer firewalls and hacked into the ships main data systems. Once into the main flow of data River was able to find Mal's location by tracking the last money transaction from this ship back to a warehouse on Kastinu, the same planet the nightclub was on. River just had to hope that she wasn't too late, that they were still back on Kastinu, that the ship would get there fast enough and that whoever was holding Mal captive wanted him alive.

_Back on Kastinu_…

"Gorram it! I already told you I don't know where the necklace is!" Mal yelled. His voice was hoarse and quivering with rage.

"My sources say otherwise Mr. Reynolds. I happen to know that you were at this very show only yesterday." The man's name was Carl Lark and he was the owner of the 'Diamond stair'.

"A lot of people were at the show yesterday."

"Yes, but of the people at the show yesterday you were the only known criminal, Well except for myself that is... and my unscrupulous little friend here. So are you ready to talk yet?"

"I am talking you son of a whore." The man laughed but he did not smile. He motioned for his associate who was easily recognizable in the harsh fluorescent lights. "Badger. I know you set this up, and if I live to see you again I ain't goin' to take to kindly to this treatment." Badger had been at the club yesterday, had seen Mal, and like the scummy little snitch he was, had gone and told the owner all about it... no doubt in exchange for some unremarkable cash sum.

"Shall I hit em again Mr. Lark?" Badger's harsh British dialect was evident as ever, as was his overly cocky demeanor (especially since his victim was wholly unable to defend himself). Mr. Lark nodded and Badger joyfully raised his fist in preparation to strike, when the door burst open.

"River?" Mal said shaking his head in disbelief. If his head hadn't still been throbbing painfully he would have said that he was dreaming.

Mr. Lark and Badger barely had time to put up a fight. Seeing as River still had a sense of adrenaline from her earlier struggles, she was more than prepared to take on this fat drone of a man and his rather short annoying lackey. After the quick battle Mal simply smiled in relief as River cut through the ropes that held him to the rather uncomfortable chair.

"Here I was thinkin' I was goin' to have to find some miraculous way to rescue you. But looks like you beat me to it." River took his hand and helped support him, as much as her small frame would allow, as they walked outside. The bright daylight was a nice change of pace from all the dark dim spaces of the night before. And in the sunlight the diamond necklace around River's neck was almost blinding it sparkled so much. But not so blinding that Mal could keep from staring at it. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Shiny huh?" River replied smiling.

"River how on earth did you…" She cut him off playfully.

"I'll tell you later. It's an interesting story really and I'm sure the crew wouldn't want to miss it."

"Well I guess you certainly proved that yah deserve to be a part of the team, I s'pose... well, sorry I doubted you." Mal looked at her, she looked so incredibly happy, in fact she just looked incredible in general. This looked like his moment.

"You look horrible by the way." River said sympathetically, she reached up brushing her hand over the marks where Badger had hit him.

"You're lookin' right lovely." Mal replied taking her hand in his. River smiled and returned his gaze. They were close now. So close in fact, that she could even feel his warm breath as he leaned in.

The kiss was soft, gentle. Mal's musky scent enveloped her senses, he he tasted of cinnamon. The emotions were plain to see, and they could both tell that this is where everything they'd gone through had lead them. As his arm snaked it's way around her waist they could both knew that everything had lead them to this exact place, this exact moment, and this exact kiss. They broke away slowly savoring every second. They were silent for a moment, not knowing exactly how to put into words what was happening. When the silence was broken it was Mal who spoke...

"River I just want you to know that I…" _:Bang: _The shot came from out of nowhere "River! Oh God! River!"

**Authors Note: This chapter has been revised... I am much more pleased with it now, and hopefully it will all make a little more sense in the next chapter. R&R please.**


	6. Chapter 6

Tick Tock:

**Tick Tock:**

Chapter 6

…_As his arm snaked it's way around her waist they could both knew that everything had lead them to this exact place, this exact moment, and this exact kiss. They broke away slowly savoring every second. They were silent for a moment, not knowing exactly how to put into words what was happening. When the silence was broken it was Mal who spoke..._

"_River I just want you to know that I…" :Bang: The shot came from out of nowhere "River! Oh God! River!"_

River had collapsed into him suddenly. There was little to no time to react, so he had picked her up and ran for cover behind the nearest building he could find (which was of course the Diamond Stair, which did not bode too well for safety). The second he believed himself to be out of firing range Mal immediately turned his attentions back to River.

He looked her over, expecting to be met with the devastating sight of blood… but to Mal's surprise there was none. Other than the bruises and scrapes River had gathered earlier he could not seem to find any new injuries. Finally, as Mal was removing the few strands of hair that had fallen onto River's face, he spotted it. A small dart embedded at the base of her neck. This had been the shot he heard, this is what had caused River to collapse, and whoever had shot it seemed to want River alive and intact.

After removing the dart carefully Mal took a closer look, and what he saw etched into it gave him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was indeed a product of the Blue Sun Corporation. There was unfortunately no time to linger on these thoughts, because it was perhaps only a matter of seconds before Mal began to hear the quiet sound of voices.

"Where the hell did they get too?" Came the hoarse whispers an unknown male voice.

"Well how the hell should I know that Ethan? Hmm?" Claire hissed.

"BI ZUIE! Claire, you stupid cow, if they hear us then we will have zero chance of retrieving our prisoner, or that necklace." Ethan breathed out a shaky sigh of anger in an effort to calm himself. "Besides, if you had checked on the girl like I asked she wouldn't have escaped and we wouldn't have been locked in a Gorram closet for four hours." He seemed none to pleased.

"Well you should be thankful that I was personally prepared enough to get us out of that closet."

"After FOUR hours!" He sounded murderously angry, and perhaps he may have taken his frustration out on Claire had it not been for the fact that he was now staring down the barrel of Mal's pistol. Luckily for Mal the bickering of the two partners had given him ample time to prepare an offence against them.

"Hello there sunshines. Please tell me it won't you two who were the ones messin' with my girl River." Ethan didn't reply, but Claire quickly began shaking her head vigorously back and forth.

"Oh really now?" Mal continued "Because I am really bettin' that you did."

"…And if it hadn't been us, it would have been somebody else, that little whore of yours has half the solar system out looking for her…" was Ethan's reply, which was cut a little short by pain from the bullet now residing in his right foot. "AAAAAAGH! You shot me in the foot, you crazy bastard!" Ethan continued howling in pain as Mal spoke again.

"Yes, I did. And I won't have you callin' River such names again or it will be much worse than your foot next time." Ethan stopped yelling about his foot long enough to draw his own weapon, which turned out to be a rather costly mistake. "I was so hoping you would be doing that." Mal said, and with another shot Ethan and his yelling were no longer a problem.

Meanwhile, Claire had simply stood there dumbstruck. She was silent and refused to respond the first few times that Mal tried to get her attention.

"HELLO!?" At this rather loud declaration Claire finally looked up. "Well it's about time. Now you listen to me missy. You're to deliver a message to whoever it is you're working for, and anyone else who's after River; that coming after her will be the last thing they ever do. And next time I wont be feeling quite so merciful as I am at the moment. Understood?" Claire once again began to nod her head "Damn it woman! I know you're not a mute, now if you could just respond in the form of words…"

"Y..Y..Yes." She managed to stammer out.

"Good. Now get outta my sight." He had barely said the words before Claire had begun running as quickly as possible in the opposite direction. Once Mal judged Claire's retreating form to be a considerably safe distance away, he returned again to River's side. She was still unconscious, but her breathing was steady and she did not appear to be in any visible pain. So once more Mal lifted her gently into his arms and began the long walk back to Serenity, where his crew would no doubt be waiting in a fit of nerves for the long overdue safe return of their captain.

As he walked back, Mal simply let his thoughts wander. Not too surprisingly, his mind seemed to go in a continual loop back to thoughts of River. He imagined what kind of a future they could have together, and however he imagined it, it would by no means be an easy one. The very nature of the work he did would constantly be putting them in danger, and it was true that River could hold her own (which she more than demonstrated today), he wasn't sure if he could handle those risks. Getting so close to someone, only to have them taken away, was one of the things Mal feared most, even more then Reavers. However, Reavers were a very _very_ close second. And then there was also the question of how the rest of the crew would react… especially Simon. River was Simon's little sister, and if Mal wanted to pursue a relationship with her, it would be a good idea to get Simon's approval.

While Mal continued to ponder these questions, he was finally greeted with the lovely sight of Serenity. The weathered metal frame had rarely looked quite as beautiful as it did now; it was good to be home. As every step he took drew them closer to his ship, River began stirring slightly. She did not open her eyes, she simply breathed a sigh and snuggled deeper into Mal's warmth.

"Are you awake darlin?" River shook her head slightly and smiled.

"Not awake." Mal chuckled at her response, before tickling her slightly. With that River opened her eyes and gave Mal a playful smack on the shoulder. "No fair. You aren't allowed to tickle sleeping people." She giggled.

"Well I am terribly sorry. But I didn't think you would want to sleep through our triumphant victory return." At this they finally re-boarded Serenity. "Besides I'm sure your bother missed you something terrible." Soon after Mal had said this, they were both greeted by a rather disheveled and an even happier than usual Kaylee, who was quickly followed by none other than River's brother Simon (Who also looked much more disheveled than normal, and had quite a large grin plastered on his face).

"I kind of doubt it." River replied to Mal, as she broke out into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kaylee and Simon remarked in unison. With this they looked over at one another, and after a glance of realization Simon promptly turned a deep scarlet color.

"Well with all this laughter, I'm going to take a guess and say we were successful." Zoë said as she entered the hull. She was shortly followed by Wash and the rest of Serenity's crew.

"Judging by the amount of sparkle in here, I'd say either Kaylee started decorating for Christmas a little too early…" She stuck her tongue out at Wash. "…Or we've got ourselves a really big diamond necklace on board this ship."

"Sorry Wash, I do know how you like Christmas lights, but it's the second one, still we could always bring out the Christmas lights for a victory celebration tomorrow." Mal laughed. "As for right now, would anybody be interested in hearing about how we actually got this damn thing?" There was unanimous agreement and all the crewmembers headed up to the kitchen area to hear Mal and River's stories of what had happened.

It took longer than was expected for the two to relay their stories since there was such a large portion of time where they had been separated. So the story parts from these particular times were new to each other as well. Mal and River also took quite a few liberties when telling the stories. Neither of them wanted to worry the crew or dampen their high spirits, so many of the situations that had been horrifying at the time, were made light of, and some things weren't mentioned at all… like the kiss the two had shared. There had in fact been quite an awkward pause at that point in the story telling where neither knew exactly how to continue the story, but Mal finally just skipped to the part about the dart (which he did not mention had Blue Sun origins).

After the stories had finished, the crew made the decision that they would try to make a sale of the necklace on other planets in the next few days. But as of right now, the best course of action was simply to leave Kastinu and enjoy a little bit of relaxing time, which they had all definitely earned (and River and Mal both needed).

One by one the crewmembers left the kitchen. Wash left to fly Serenity off Kastinu, Zoë went to go be with Wash, Inara left to go and pick out who would be her next client, and everyone else went to do whatever it was they wanted too (Everyone of course except for Mal and River). Mal and River hadn't really had a chance to talk to one another about what had happened that day and there were still a large number of questions they each had for the other.

"So…" Mal began. "About earlier…"

"I'm not sorry." River stated quickly.

"What?"

"If you were going to apologize, I don't wan't you too. Because I am not at all sorry about what happened… and if you think for some reason that you were taking advantage of me, you're very mistaken…"

"No. I'm not sorry… I just ain't exactly certain I know how to deal with this kinda situation." He avoided her eyes. He wanted to take that step; he was just scared as hell of the consequences. Luckily for him River was not particularly concerned about consequences at the moment, and she had taken this opportunity to move closer to him. They were standing less than a foot apart now… and every second River closed the gap by another inch, until there was no longer a gap to close.

"You think to much." River said, as she looked him in the eyes.

"Maybe I do…" and maybe Mal would have said something else had River not prevented him from doing so. Mal returned the kiss, his mind and thoughts being overloaded by his emotions that were now in control of his body. So much in control in fact that he pretty much forgot the fact that both he and River were still standing in the none too private kitchen of Serenity.

"Hey Mal I was just wondering if…" Inara stopped in her tracks as she entered the kitchen. "Oh god." Her face fell and as quickly as she had entered, she was gone from their sight. And as River and Mal released each other the same thought sprang to the mind of each.

"Well… damn."

**Author's Note: Yes I know that I haven't updated this story in like a year... I am a bad bad horrible writer who does not deserve cookies. But in my defense I kind of just forgot that I had this story... so when I recently went back on to and discovered that I had not ever updated this story... I felt really bad for everyone who had been left contemplating the major cliff-hanger. Hopefully I will be writing more in this story again soon, but I am debating on discontinueing it... So if you liked it thus far and want it to continue, please review and tell me so... plus any new ideas or criticisms are welcome. Thanks to those who have enjoyed it thus far.**


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